A Computer Called Watson

In the last 100 years, countless IBMers have contributed to the innovations and milestones that comprise our century of progress. Below are some reflections from the great minds involved in this Icon of Progress.

Watson on Jeopardy!

“We’re thrilled that Jeopardy! is considered a benchmark of ultimate knowledge. Performing well on Jeopardy! requires a combination of skills, and it will be fascinating to see whether a computer can compete against arguably the two best Jeopardy! players ever.”

Harry Friedman

Executive producer, Jeopardy!

“‘Jeopardy!’ to pit human champs against IBM computer,” CNN

December 14, 2010

“Retrieval of obscure Italian poets is easy—[Watson] will never forget that one. But ‘Jeopardy!’ tends to have a lot of wordplay, and that’s going to be a challenge.”

Peter Norvig

Director of research, Google

“What Is I.B.M.’s Watson?” New York Times

June 16, 2010

“It requires critical thinking. It requires a whole lot more than knowledge alone. So when people hear about this project and they say ‘Well, isn’t this just sort of Google on steroids?’ No, it is not.”

Harry Friedman

Executive producer, Jeopardy!

“IBM and the Jeopardy Challenge,” IBM video

June 11, 2010

Future potential

“Our responsibility to the scientific community is to push this technology as hard as we possibly can, because when we get out there in public, what we’re demonstrating is what is the state of the art, what can we really do.”

Dr. David Ferrucci

Principal investigator, DeepQA project

“IBM and the Jeopardy Challenge,” IBM video

June 11, 2010

… Watson-level artificial intelligence could make it significantly easier for citizens to get answers quickly from massive, ponderous bureaucracies. “You can imagine if I’m applying for health insurance, having to explain the details of my personal situation, or if I'm trying to figure out if I'm eligible for a particular tax deduction. Any place there’s massive data that surpasses the human’s ability to sort through it, and there’s a time constraint on getting an answer.”

Ted Senator

Vice president, SAIC

“What Is I.B.M.’s Watson?” New York Times

June 16, 2010

“I think about call centers. I think about getting staff precise medical information, getting people access to information quicker and more effectively to make more rapid decisions in business.”

Dr. David Ferrucci

Principal investigator, IBM DeepQA project

“Meet Watson, IBM Supercomputer and Future ‘Jeopardy’ Champ,” PCWorld

April 27, 2009

“I want to create something that I can take into every other retail industry, in the transportation industry, you name it, the banking industry. Any place where time is critical and you need to get advanced state-of-the-art information to the front of decision-makers. Computers need to go from just being back-office calculating machines to improving the intelligence of people making decisions.”